Second Chances
by PieAnnamay07
Summary: Post-Fool Me Once. Elena chose Damon. Stefan tries to help Bonnie grieve, and finds that somehow, he's fallen in love with her. But with one failed romance, will he try again with Bonnie?


Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of The Vampire Diaries. They belong to L. J. Smith and the CW.

Summary: Post Fool Me Once. Elena chose Damon. Stefan tries to help Bonnie grieve, and finds that somehow, he's fallen in love with her. But with one failed romance, will he try again with Bonnie?

Spoilers: Everything up to and including "Fool Me Once". This fic is AU after that point.

A/N: Like a few Stefan/Bonnie fic writers before me, I was inspired by the episode Bloodlines. There's deffinatly something between those two, and I wanted to write my own version of this pairing.

If you like this fic, and you haven't already, check out RockerChick08's two Stefan/Bonnie fic's, Black Eyes, Veins, and Fangs, Oh Yess! And Something There. They're awesome.

This is really angsty, I'm sorry. I'll write a happier one soon.

Edit 05-0510: My breaks aren't showing up, and I don't know why. I put four stars between sections, but I don't think they're showing up. I'm sorry if this whole thing looks all jumbled together, that's not how I wrote it.

Second Chances

Stefan Salvatore just couldn't believe it. How could Elena do this to him? Didn't she know that he loved her? Sometimes, he thought that it wasn't possible to love her anymore than he already did, and he had thought she felt the same way.

Appairently, she didn't. She had chosen Damon, his older brother, the one who killed and drank human blood.

It hurt. It hurt more than Katherine's betrayal, more than Damon's hatred toward him, more than . . . anything he had ever felt in a long time.

He had no idea how he was supposed to go on living his unlife without Elena in it.

Then, he saw her for the first time after his horrible break up, and she looked worse than he had ever seen her.

Bonnie Bennett hated Damon Salvatore. This was entirely his fault. If it hadn't been for him, her Grams would still be alive.

The viewing was tomorrow, and the funeral the day after. She really couldn't remember what had happened between her finding her Grams and her father finally coming home, but she was sure she was better off not remembering. Elena, her best friend, had left her alone in her Grams house to go see him. She said how sorry she felt for him, how she could help him. What about her, Bonnie? What about how she was feeling? Didn't Elena care about her anymore?

Now, her father had insisted that she go out. He had preferred if she had at least one friend with her, but Caroline was with Matt. She didn't want to bother her, not when she seemed so happy.

So she found herself walking down a street alone. She felt like she had no one, like no one was there for her anymore. The ache in her chest worsened, and she felt tears starting to blur her vision.

Then, she saw him. Stefan. He looked . . . so depressed. So, Elena had broken up with him to be with the murderer of her Grandmother after all.

Despite feeling horrible herself, she walked toward him, needing to help him.

"Hi, Stefan." She said softly. "I noticed you were . . . alone, and I . . . I was wondering if I could walk with you. I'm alone too."

He looked down at her then, and she felt trapped in his gray eyes. His despair made her own sadness grow inside her, until she was sure she would explode.

They both needed someone.

"Sure, Bonnie." Stefan replied, noticing her trying to hide her grief. "You can walk with me. I'm so, so sorry. If it wasn't for us . . ." he broke off mid sentence, and Bonnie's hand suddenly, unexpectedly found his.

"I'm trying to deal with it, Stefan," she assured him. "But it's just so hard . . . Everyone else is busy, and I feel like . . . I feel like I don't have anyone anymore. It hurts so much."

Stefan stopped walking, and Bonnie froze beside him, his hand still firmly in hers.

"Bonnie, I'm here for you. I mean, I'll be here for you." He cleared his throat, a clear sign of slight nervousness. "I know that we haven't been the best of friends, and that I was so . . . wrapped up in Elena that I didn't get to know you, but I want to help you so much."

"Thank you, Stefan. I know I've . . . I've been afraid of you, and I'm trying not to be, but . . . Damon scares me so much. I hate him. I'm trying to se that you're a different person than he is, but . . ."

"It's okay, Bonnie. Don't worry about it. I understand. You have no reason to trust me." Stefan reassured her, a sad smile twisting his lips.

"No, that's not it. Really, it's not. I want to trust you, I know I can trust you. I just . . ." She couldn't find words to explain how conflicted she was.

Stefan's hand squeezed hers, and she found herself smiling. It wasn't anywhere near the smile that she normally gave, but it was a start.

Stefan was at the viewing, staying by Bonnie's side the entire time. Bonnie had introduced him to her father, and the two of them had seemed to get along.

He was there for her at the funeral, as well, and afterward, he went home with her.

Their friendship continued, even as they both returned to school.

Eventually, Stefan shared everything with her. She was his only friend left, now, and she deserved the ttruth. In turn, she shared her problems with him, and the two of them tried to sort them out together.

Weeks turned into two months of friendship, and Stefan was starting to become conflicted. He realized that somehow, he had fallen in love with Bonnie. He wasn't sure when, exactly, but he had, and he wasn't sure if he could stop it. He would notice little things about her, like how sometimes, she would stare at him when she thought he didn't notice. In those long, infrequent glances, he saw something that he knew was reflected in his own expression. But what were they going to do about it?

It was late one night when Stefan's cell phone rang. Knowing that it wouldn't be anyone else other than Bonnie, he answered quickly without checking the caller ID first.

"Hello?" He asked, although he knew he didn't have to.

"Hi, Stefan." He froze. That wasn't Bonnie.

"Elena?" He asked, his eyes wide. Why was Elena calling him?

"Oh, Stefan, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean . . . I didn't mean to hurt you, I promise. It was a mistake, and . . ." Elena was crying.

"Stop, Elena." Stefan made sure his voice didn't break. "Elena, why did you call me? You haven't talked to me in two months, not since you told me you wanted to be with Damon instead of me."

"Oh, Stefan, it was a mistake! I love . . ."

He cut her off with a sharp noise in the back of his throat that deffinatly wasn't human. "Don't start, Elena." His face had shifted, his eyes dark with fury and his jaw clenched in pain.

"But, Stefan, I Love you!" Elena said desperately.

"No, you don't. Did something happen between you and Damon, is that why you're using me?" He demanded, hurt beyond words. How could she be doing this to him?

"Yeah, he broke up with me, and . . ." Elena tried to explain, and Stefan tightened his grip on his cell phone to the point where he was surprised it didn't shatter.

"I said stop, Elena. I don't want to hear this. Why did you call me?" His face was still shifted into his vampire visage, and he couldn't calm down, not while Elena was still talking to him.

"But, Stefan . . ." Elena pleaded, and he finally broke.

Letting out a scream of pain and frustration, he threw his cell phone into the wall as hard as he could. It shattered on impact, sprinkling little pieces onto the carpet.

He had to see Bonnie.

When Bonnie opened her front door, she hadn't expected to see Stefan, looking like he couldn't hold himself together. Wordlessly, she beckoned him inside, shutting the door quietly behind him. She took his hand and led him up to her bedroom, where she gently made him sit on her bed.

"What happened, Stefan? Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked, sitting down beside him.

"Elena called," Stefan whispered.

Bonnie frowned. "Why?"

"Her and Damon broke up, and she . . . wanted me back." Stefan dropped his head in the hand that wasn't being held by Bonnie. He looked so miserable.

Bonnie pulled him closer to her, feeling angry at Elena. What was she trying to do, kill Stefan?

"I'm guessing you said no, right?" She wondered, trying to get him to look at her.

"I broke my phone." Stefan replied, his shoulders slumping.

Bonnie wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to comfort him, to tell him that she was going to be there for him no matter what, but she knew he already was aware of that. So, she lifted his head out of his hand and drew him to her, just holding him. He needed someone to show him that things would get better, and she supposed there was no one better for the job than she was.

The next day, Stefan was sitting in her desk chair when Bonnie woke up. She honestly wasn't surprised that he had spent the night, but she was mildly surprised that he was still there now.

"How are you doing?" She asked, getting up and crossing her room to stand beside him.

"I'm feeling a little better today," Stefan replied to her question, a slight smile turning his lips up.

"That's good. Do you need me to do anything?"

He shook his head.

"Bonnie, you've already done enough. Just being there for me was enough, you know that."

"I suppose. I just feel like I should do more for you. You're my best friend, Stefan, and I want to help you in any way that I can."

Stefan frowned, suddenly unsure of himself. "Yeah. We're best friends." He said quietly. "Bonnie, I have to tell you something."

Bonnie nodded, wondering why he was suddenly frowning like that.

"Bonnie, I think . . ." Stefan paused, unsure of how to continue. How did he tell her? "I love you, Bonnie."

Bonnie's eyes widened, then she stared at him in disbelief. "You do?"

He nodded. "I'm sorry, I knew this was a bad idea." He got up as if to leave, but Bonnie blocked his path.

"No, that's not it, Stefan. It's just . . . with all that happened between you and Elena, I just . . ." She stopped, letting him silently fill in the blank.

"You don't think I mean it."

"I . . ." She really didn't know what to say.

"I think I should leave, Bonnie." Stefan told her, not looking at her.

"No! You can't leave! I . . . I need you, Stefan, you know that." Bonnie protested, her hands automatically reaching for him.

Stefan let her cling to him, even though he knew it was a bad idea. If he was going to save any of this, it was best for him to leave Mystic Falls.

"You can't leave me, Stefan, please." Bonnie whispered, feeling tears in her eyes., Stefan just couldn't leave. He was her best friend, the one who she could tell absolutely anything to, the one who . . . she was starting to fall in love with. It hit her hard, then, just what was happening between them. They were slowly, but surely, falling in love with each other.

Stefan found his arms wrapping around her, pulling her to him. He inhaled her scent, like the hundreds of times before this, but this time, it was different. He could feel something between them, and he knew Bonnie did too.

"Okay," He whispered to her, tightening his arms around her. "I won't leave you. But, Bonnie . . . I can't help it . . . I can't stop it, believe me, I've . . . I've tried, and . . . it won't go away, it won't stop. I'm still in love with you."

Bonnie wanted him closer. "Stefan, I think I'm starting to . . . love you, but I'm not sure. This is all . . . It's confusing for me, and I'm sorry. I don't know what we're supposed to do."

"We don't have to do anything, not if you don't want to. I won't make you do anything you don't want to do, Bonnie. I'm not like that, you know that."

"Yeah, I know. But, Stefan, this isn't fare for you. I'm not being fare to you, and I know it." Bonnie pressed her face into his chest, wanting to tell him just how much he meant to her, but unable to find words.

"It's okay, Bonnie. It'll all be okay. We'll figure something out, I promise." Stefan continued to hold her, and Bonnie relaxed, letting the soothing sound of his vampiric heart beat lul her into a peaceful half doze.

Everything would work itself out, just like he said. She knew this for a fact, and she could finally tell him what she had been unable to for months.

She loved him.

And she knew he loved her.

FIN.


End file.
